Rs 39.76 million evaded in CE imports: another cellular company involved in tax evasion detected

The Directorate of Post Clearance Audit (DPCA) has detected one more cellular company involved in evading duty and taxes amounting to Rs39.76 million in the imports of different cellular equipment (CE); it is learnt. Sources told Business Recorder that DPCA has established two contravention cases against the said mobile service provider.
According to contravention reports, which were exclusively available to this Daily, revealed that although 'DNS Server and telecommunication equipment SIU V4 Platform configuration consisting of SUL Oam Board' were falling under PCT heading 8517.6990 chargeable to custom duty @ 15 per cent, sales tax at 17 per cent, additional sales tax @ 3 per cent, additional custom duty @ 1 per cent and withholding tax @5.5 per cent, the company had cleared the same under PCT heading 8471.5000 chargeable to custom duty @ 2 per cent, sales tax at 17 per cent, additional sales tax @ 3 per cent, additional custom duty @ 1 per cent and withholding tax @5.5 per cent.
Consequent upon said deliberated misdeclaration of PCT heading, the said cellular company has provided a financial shock of Rs 22.33 million to the national kitty.
However, the goods falling under the declared PCT heading prescribed by Pakistan Customs Tariff (Vol-I) are automatic data processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included.
They said that DPCA in order to classify the goods more specifically, under single dash heading 8471.5000 had gone through the description of goods given under this heading which revealed that the declaration made by the importer were, in no way, fell under PCT heading 8471.5000 and were vividly and correctly classifiable under PCT heading 8517.6990.
The catalogue uploaded by the importer in the system also reveals that the equipment is meant for use in GPRS/UMTS solutions and supports a number of networking, routing, signalling and wireless sharing protocols/interfaces.
Similarly, in another case, the said company has wilfully misdeclared telecommunication equipment under PCT heading 8471.4900 and 8471.4190. However, the same is correctly falling under PCT heading 8517.6990. Thus, by way of misdeclaration of classification, the company with the active connivance of their clearing agents has evaded custom duty Rs 14.12 million, sales tax Rs 2.40 million and income tax Rs 0.90 million, totalling Rs 17.436 million.